


Sunrise, Sunset

by Pixiestick_cc



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Not really sharing a bed but kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 02:46:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixiestick_cc/pseuds/Pixiestick_cc
Summary: “Why didn’t you wake me?” he complained sometime near dawn after she’d roused him with a gentle shake. “Now you won’t have enough time to sleep before we have to get moving.”“I’m an elf,” she replied flippantly. “I can manage.”





	Sunrise, Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Picks up a few days after Season 2 ends.

They took turns sleeping because it was too dangerous otherwise. Less so for Rayla in this territory. As an elf, she’d likely get preferential treatment, but since she was traveling with a human and a much-coveted dragon, that goodwill likely wouldn’t last long. And so they slept in shifts. By the end of their third day in Xadia, exhaustion was like an old friend, but Rayla always made Callum sleep first. He was human. Weaker. And though she was loathed to admit it, she worried about him. The image of Callum at his lowest, burst through her mind at random moments. The sound of him choking rang like an echo in her ears. She wasn’t willing to repeat that experience. When the choice was left up to her, Callum got more sleep than she did.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” he complained sometime near dawn after she’d roused him with a gentle shake. “Now you won’t have enough time to sleep before we have to get moving.”

“I’m an elf,” she replied flippantly. “I can manage.”

Callum rolled his eyes. But playfully. Like the way he did with her. Not meant to insult; more mystified than cruel. She gave his shoulder a little shove. A tease. It was so routine with them now and despite how it may have looked on the outside, to her it was as welcome as a warm blanket. She’d then snuggled up against Zym, inside the protection of the small cave they’d found, and instantly fell asleep.

The next night, sleep found her before she intended. An accident. Too weary, but unwilling to wake Callum yet as he mumbled about Ezran in his sleep. _I’ll be fine_ , she thought, _just shut my eyes for a wee bit and then be right as rain._

It felt like rain that woke her, but it was actually Zym licking her face while someone spoke her name. And that someone wasn’t happy. “You fell asleep,” Callum accused.

“I did not.” It was such an obvious lie. He’d caught her in the act. And it was already morning. Why did she even say that? “I mean, I did, but it was only this one time.”

She stood and stretched her muscles, pointing her eight fingers towards the cave’s ceiling. Callum moved in closer. “Tomorrow I’m keeping watch first and you’re sleeping,” he stated. She glared at him; a silent argument erupting between human and elf. Likely sensing the tension, Zym flew to perch on Callum’s shoulder, his weight sending them both tumbling to the ground. Rayla laughed and helped her friend up, their brief moment of conflict over. “Fine, you can keep watch first but you better not fall asleep again.”

“Or what?” Rayla challenged, a lightness in her voice that only Callum seemed able to coax from her. It wasn’t the same way she spoke to Ezran, gentle and soft. This was different and not something typical of her.

“Or I’ll uh, glare at you again. Really hard. And I won’t hold back this time.”

They shared a laugh over his hapless joke and Rayla wondered if she was imagining his hand lingering on hers for just a moment too long. Maybe it was wishful thinking.

But when it happened a second time, her falling asleep, Callum was less forgiving or willing to ease the situation with humor. “Why are you being so stubborn?” he asked, a slight irritation in his voice. Despite what he’d said before, he actually _was_ holding back. She could tell. “We both need sleep, but you keep letting me take up your time, so much time that you now can’t stay awake.”

At first, she refused to say why, dismissing his arguments with a wave of the hand. Not until Callum broke did it even occur to Rayla to be honest. Like an egg slowly squeezed from pressure- Rayla envisioned a dragon’s egg- his shell fractured, the raw insides exposed.

“I thought we were a team?” he said, his voice cracking. “And a good team only works if all of the pieces are doing their part. We’ve already lost Ezran. I’ve lost my stepdad. I’ve lost everything and if something happens to Zym or us because you’ve fallen asleep … I just … it would be too much. I-I can’t do this alone. I’m just a kid. What was I thinking? Why did I think that I could do this? This is crazy. I’m-”

“Losin’ your head there a little bit?” Rayla interrupted, taking both his hands. “You need to calm down. We’ve faced worse than me catchin’ a few winks here and there.”

Her words seemed able to cut through his frenzy, but not before tears began spilling from his eyes. She’d done this. It was her fault. If only she could be honest with him. Vulnerable. Why was it so hard? “Look, Callum.” She coughed to clear her throat. “The reason I’m not sleepin’ as much as I should is … well …” The words refused to leave her mouth and it took Rayla so long to find her voice again that Callum looked awkwardly away. “Why can’t I just say what needs to be said?” she grumbled while Zym whined in the background.

“What needs to be said?” Callum asked, his eyes focusing on hers again.

She stared into those eyes. Green with specks of brown. Almost hazle and they were still wet. She reached out to wipe away a tear traveling down his check. “I’m sorry, but seein’ you before, sick with dark magic. You sounded like you were dyin’ and I guess I’m sufferin’ from the same fear as you. That I’ll be left alone to do this on my own and while that’s horrible and all, the truth is … I care about you and I don’t ever wanna see you like that again. So I let you sleep more, so you can be rested and I want to watch you sleep to make sure you’re … okay. Because, you mean a lot to me, you dumb human.”

It should have been a relief to admit this, but Rayla felt drained. All the effort she’d put into keeping her feelings secret and now they were out there. She was now the egg, oozing on the ground.

“I already knew that,” Callum replied after a moment, sniffing his final tears away.

“You did?” Rayla blurted, more forcefully than intended. “I uh, mean, how is that possible?” She was usually so good at masking her emotions when she needed to.

“We’re friends, right? We _both_ care about each other.”

“Oh, riiiight.” She dragged out the vowel. Stalling. The disappointment crushed her harder than she anticipated. Confessing her feelings to Callum was a scenario she’d played out in her head many times before, but nothing compared to the reality of rejection. No matter how soft he made it feel. “We’re friends. Yep. That is true.”

“And good friends don’t try to take on all the responsibility for themselves.” His body moved nearer, culminating in an embrace that caused her to stiffen briefly. “I’m sorry I scared you so much with dark magic. Now _that_ I didn’t know about. But I promise it’s not going to happen again.” When his warmth receded, she instantly missed it, but he was preoccupied with his new ability to manipulate air. Moving his fingers, Callum produced a breeze that gingerly tousled her hair. “Now that I can do this, it’ll only be a matter of time before I figure out other stuff. Who needs dark magic anyway?” His smile was contagious and despite her mood, Rayla grinned back.

“Not _you_ apparently.”

“Nope.” Callum walked back towards her, his voice shifting serious again when he said, “I think I have an idea on how to keep you from falling asleep.”

“You do?”

He nodded, then went to pick up his sketchbook, Zym running circles around him as if stating he was ready to leave the confines of yet another cave. “I’ll show you tonight.”

Callum’s idea ended up being simply what he’d stated before. “You won’t fall asleep on your watch because I’ll make sure you get enough sleep during mine.”

“You made it sound like you had a new strategy,” Rayla mentioned, reclining next to Zym.

Callum merely smirked, before picking up his sketchbook and drawing tool. “Get some rest,” he said, not even glancing away from the paper.

Rayla didn’t argue, the weight of days spent surviving on broken sleep quickly pulling her under. When she awoke sometime later, it was to the soft sound of snoring. Not hers. Or Zym’s. She sat upright and went to rub the sleep from her eyes, but one hand felt heavier than the other. A quick look to her right revealed a body.

 _Callum?_ _Callum!_

Ice filled her blood. Was it dark magic again? She shook her hand free and maneuvered to grip the front of his shirt, her legs on either side of him. “Callum!” she shouted. He snorted and bolted upright, knocking his head against hers. They both groaned and fell away from each other.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing the heel of his palm against the point of impact.

“You fell asleep. That’s what happened. All that talk about stayin’ awake and look at you. Sleepin’ like a wee baby.” His guilty expression was all the answer she needed. “And what were you doin’ layin’ down next to me. At least I had the decency to sleep propped up against rocks.”

They were sitting now and Zym- awake from all the commotion- settled into Callum’s lap. He stroked the dragon’s head. “I wasn’t sleeping next to you, I was ... trying to get a better look.” With his hand, he indicated his sketchbook. Already open to the last page he’d used, Rayla picked it up and saw herself inside. Not perfect, but a good representation of her while sleeping. “You looked so peaceful and I-I wanted to get another side of you.” He shrugged. “Too peaceful, I guess.”

“Callum, are you blamin’ _me_ for your falling asleep?”

“No, yes, I don’t know.” He frowned. “I feel stupid.”

“As you should.” Rayla chuckled.

“So maybe there just isn’t any solution to our sleeping problem,” Callum wondered out loud to Rayla when she began perusing his sketchbook. She had a faint feeling he disapproved. _Too many pictures of Claudia inside, that’s for sure._

Zym appeared to have a solution though. He removed himself from Callum’s lap and ran to the front of the cave, letting out a tiny roar. “Thanks for the offer, little one, but I don’t think you’re quite ready to be a guard dragon,” Rayla said, scratching under his chin. He whined. “Besides you need sleep too.” She handed Callum his sketchbook. “Ready for another day of travelin’ through Xadia? You should be well rested.”

He rolled his eyes, and she relished it. Their playful back and forth. Rayla may not have gotten some big reveal that Callum felt the same, but there was still comfort in what they did have … time and a shared quest. Good friends. And for now, that was enough for her.

* * *

 

Callum made sure to give Rayla one of those looks that let her know she was a nuisance to him. It wasn’t true. The faces, the teasing. It was just the silly way they interacted. She’d make a joke at his expense and he’d act unamused. Then the situation would reverse, with her at the receiving end of a playful insult. But when she turned away, retrieving a few items they needed for their journey, Callum’s face fell. It was getting more difficult to hide how he felt, especially after her admission the day before.

“Hey, are you comin’?” Rayla asked, already outside, her hair shining like silver in the sun. “Or are you gonna take another nap in there.”

Callum wound his sketchbook’s strap around his shoulder and forced a smile. “No, I’m ready.” He hurried over to her.

Who knew, maybe in the future they were attempting to build, there could be a way for a moonshadow elf and human to be together. But Callum couldn’t put her through that. Not with so much at stake. And so he walked alongside her, with Zym at their feet, the dragon sometimes racing ahead. Rayla, his closest friend, but so much more to him than she’d probably ever know.

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished season 2 and had a sudden urge to write some fluff and well ... it came out more angsty than I intended. 
> 
> But hi, this is my first tdp fic. I liked season 1, but season 2 has ignited something in me. I loved it! And hopefully, I'll write for this fandom again. If you liked what I wrote, consider leaving a comment or kudo of encouragement.


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